Housing & Neighborhoods

Key Trends

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Housing tends to be more affordable here than elsewhere in the nation. The median price of purchasing a home is lower than the national median, though higher than the state median. For renters, our region is more affordable than elsewhere in the state and nation. Nonetheless, some members of our community face significant housing challenges. Homelessness remains a problem, with the number of homeless people up 12% since 2015.

Key Housing & Neighborhoods Indicators

Similar to the state and nation, our region’s total number of housing units increased 19% since 2000. In 2010-14, 114% of housing units with addresses were vacant, up from 10% in 2000.

In 2010-14, 68% of occupied housing was owner-occupied, above the 67% in the state and 64% nationwide. Home ownership decreased slightly since 2000, falling 3 percentage points. Conversely, the rate of renter-occupied housing increased over the same time period, reaching 32% in 2010-14.

Despite the boom and bust of the housing bubble, the regional median home value increased during the past decade. Home values in the region increased at a higher rate (14%) than home values in both the state (9%) and nation (7%) since 2000. The region’s median home value ($151,500) was above the state’s ($139,900) in 2010-14, but below the nation’s ($175,700).

Housing in our region was more affordable than the state and nation for renters. The median monthly rental price in the region was about $740, up 15% since 2000. This compares to higher median rents in both the state ($760) and nation ($920).

Point-in-time estimates in 2015 show that there were about 1,226 homeless persons in our region, up 12% from 2012. Over two-thirds of the homeless persons in our region in 2015 were counted in Knox County.